Stretching over a thousand episodes,One Piece, a sprawling epic by the legendaryEiichiro Oda,is packed with hundreds of characters with incredibly dense backgrounds. Family lines, friendships, and even romantic links shape a hero’s journey, and understanding the origins of their dreams is vital for anyanime.Monkey D. Luffy(Mayumi Tanaka)is no exception, as his lineage connects him to some of the most powerful figures in the world. Captain of theStraw Hat Pirates, Luffy’s small yet significant family tree has a big influence on his path to becoming the King of the Pirates....

It’s been a long, strange journey forMystery Science Theater 3000, but more episodes might finally be on the way — that is, ifthe new Make MoreMST3KKickstarterfrom series creatorJoel Hodgsonhits its funding goal. The initial goal of $2 million would cover three new episodes, reunitingJonah Ray’s Jonah Heston with robot pals Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, and would also fund the development of “The Gizmoplex,” a new “online theater” that would host live episode premieres, real-time watch parties and special live events year-round....

EvenOrson Wellesis heading to Netflix. Last May,an Indiegogo campaignwas launched to help complete the legendaryCitizen Kanefilmmaker’s final movie,The Other Side of the Wind, which was plagued by financial troubles and remained unfinished at the time of Welles’ death in 1985. Today Netflix announced that it has acquired global rights to the film and will finance the completion and restoration of the picture, which will subsequently be released on the streaming service—just as Welles always intended....

InThis Week in Animation News, I’ll take a look at the previous week in the world of animation in order to get you caught up on everything you might have missed. It’s your one-stop shop for news regarding cartoons, anime, and animated web series. We’re talking movies, TV shows, digital shorts, and everything in between! For the latest animation stories we’ve already covered on the site this week, take a look at the following links....

TheNight at the Museumfranchise was a surprise hit for 20th Century Fox at the time of its release, with the trilogy grossing a collective $1.35 billion upon original release. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the films were massive popular with younger audiences as they blended tales of historical figures like PresidentTeddy Roosevelt, Attila the Hun, SacagaweaandNapoleon Bonapartewith an entertaining family-friendly romp complete with CGI dinosaurs and slapstick comedy from its starBen Stiller....

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Nope’Jordan Peelecreated a horror spectacle with his newest film,Nope.Out of all the tension-filled scenes in the movie, none create a spectacle quite like the Star Lasso Experience. This scene is essential for our main character OJ Howard (Daniel Kaluuya) to learn how to beat the alien he faces. However, like all of Peele’s films it can be hard to grasp what happened in any given scene, so what did happen at the Star Lasso Experience?...

There are plenty of projects that have been on the burner for so long that they’ve become borderline mythology at this point. For me, the big one is the seemingly abandoned adaptation ofCharles Burns' brilliant, bewilderingBlack Holethat was meant to be a project set up withDavid Fincherat the helm. In that same realm of impatient anticipation isLee Daniels’Pryor, his long-awaited take onRichard Pryor’s life as an outspoken black man and radical comedian....

Ray Stevensonwas a terrific supporting actor with an ability to capture medieval fanfare, quality direct-to-VOD nail biters, and the world of comic book movies, and even managed to turn in a decent performance in the disastrousDivergentfranchise. While his chances at playing leading characters were few and far between, Stevenson never failed to compliment his co-stars with standout supporting turns that didn’t run the risk of dominating their screen time. There’s a skill to being a great standout within an ensemble, as Stevenson rarely dominated the screen time, but never failed to at least have a unique spin on his characters....

[This is a re-post of myRichard Linklater: Dream Is Destinyreview from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The film premieres on PBS on September 1st and American Masters: Richard Linklater - dream is destiny premieres on PBS and will be available to streamright hereand PBS OTT app.] Richard Linklateris one of the most interesting filmmakers of his generation. While he came up around the same time asQuentin Tarantino,David O. Russell, and other filmmakers from the “indie explosion,” Linklater has always had a knack for going his own way and eschewing Hollywood for the comfort of Austin, Texas....

We’re only a month away from the premiere ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerand the level of anticipation to see the final installment in the Skywalker saga couldn’t be higher. AsStar Warsfans prepare for the new movie, a metric ton of new photos fromThe Rise of Skywalkeras well as new interviews with the cast and directorJ.J. Abramshave been released with more hints of what’s to come. Daisy Ridley, one of the leads of this currentStar Wartrilogy cycle, was included in these new interviews (naturally)....

WithThe Beguilednow playing in limited release and expanding this weekend into more theaters, I recently sat down with writer-directorSofia Coppolafor an exclusive video interview. During our wide-ranging conversation she talked about why most of her movies take place in the past, why she wanted to remake the story (it was previously made in 1971 and starredClint Eastwood), what she learns from test screening, if she had a lot of deleted scenes, the most challenging part of filmingThe Beguiledin 26 days, the way she likes to work on set, and more....

Netflix’s upcoming comedySpace Forcejust recruited another batch of cast members.Noah Emmerichfrom FX’sThe Americans,Fred WillardofBest in ShowandModern Family, andJessica St. ClairofPlaying HouseandAmerican Housewifehave just been added to an already-impressive cast led bySteve Carell. Space Force, created by Carell andThe OfficeandKing of the Hillco-creator / developerGreg Daniels, follows General Mark R. Naird (Carell), who has been tasked by the White House to create a brand-new branch of the Armed Forces to protect American interests in space....

I think we can all agree that one of the best films of 2018 wasSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. While people love to passionately debate every major movie online, one of the few things the majority agreed on wasSpider-Versewas incredible and one of those rare films that did everything right. Written byPhil Lordand directed byPeter Ramsey,Bob Persichetti, andRodney Rothman, the movie takes place in a world where more than one person can wear the mask of Spider-Man....